SABIC Launches Thermoformable LEXAN™ Sheet for Outstanding Flame-Smoke-Toxicity Performance, Opacity in Aircraft Window Shades

To help global aerospace customers comply with increasingly stringent standards for flame-smoke-toxicity (FST) performance of interior aircraft components, SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business today introduced new next-generation LEXAN™ XHR 5000 (extremely low heat release) sheet for aircraft window shades. On display here at the Aircraft Interiors Show in SABIC’s booth #828, LEXAN XHR 5000 sheet is designed for multi-layer window shade systems requiring advanced FST properties and opacity. Not only does this industry-leading solution meet demanding safety requirements, it also helps improve comfort in the cabin environment with a high-quality appearance and enhanced room-darkening properties. SABIC’s ongoing investment in advanced materials technologies for the aerospace sector demonstrates the company’s commitment to helping aircraft OEM customers meet toughening regulations, greatly expand thermoforming design options, improve aesthetics and heighten the consumer flying experience.

“There’s no question that SABIC ranks among the top in the worldwide aircraft sector with exceptional high-performance materials that comply with the toughest safety requirements and deliver critically important benefits,” said Jack Govers, general manager, Specialty Film & Sheet, SABIC. “The new availability of LEXAN XHR sheet can help our aerospace customers solve their most pressing FST, design and performance needs and marks the debut of a new industry standard that will clearly make major contributions to the future of aircraft interior design.”

Improving Cabin Safety and Comfort

Testing by an independent laboratory demonstrated that thermoformable LEXAN XHR 5000 sheet complies with the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) flammability requirements under the FAR 25.853 regulation, and smoke density and heat release requirements under the Ohio State University (OSU) 65/65 standard. This material meets the following requirements:
• Vertical burn test – FAR 25.853 (a) Appendix F Part I (60 Sec. Vertical Burn)
• Heat release – (OSU 65/65) and FAR 25.853 (d) Appendix F Part IV
• Smoke density – FAR 25.853 (d) Appendix F Part V
• Toxicity requirements – Boeing BSS7239, Airbus ABD0031

Supplied as a white-pigmented cap layer over a black base, LEXAN XHR 5000 sheet is engineered as a robust yet lightweight substrate to be laminated with decorative films and then thermoformed.

Notes to Editors

• Brands marked with ™ are trademarks of SABIC
• SABIC is a registered trademark of SABIC Holding Europe B.V.
• High-resolution photos are available upon request

About SABIC

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world’s top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world’s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.

SABIC recorded a net profit of SR 29.24 billion (US$ 7.80 billion) in 2011. Sales revenues for 2011 totaled SR 189.90 billion (US$ 50.64 billion). Total assets stood at SR 332.78 billion (US$ 88.74 billion) at the end of 2011.

SABIC’s businesses are grouped into Chemicals, Polymers, Performance Chemicals, Fertilizers, Metals and Innovative Plastics. SABIC has significant research resources with 16 dedicated Technology & Innovation facilities in Saudi Arabia, the USA, the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, India and South Korea. The company operates in more than 40 countries across the world with around 40,000 employees worldwide.

SABIC manufactures on a global scale in Saudi Arabia, the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Headquartered in Riyadh, SABIC was founded in 1976 when the Saudi Arabian Government decided to use the hydrocarbon gases associated with its oil production as the principal feedstock for production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. The Saudi Arabian Government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

About Innovative Plastics

SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business is a leading, global supplier of engineering thermoplastics with an 80-year history of breakthrough solutions that solve its customers’ most pressing challenges. Today, Innovative Plastics is a multi-billion-dollar company with operations in more than 35 countries and approximately 9,000 employees worldwide. The company continues to lead the plastics industry with customer collaboration and continued investments in new polymer technologies, global application development, process technologies, and environmentally responsible solutions that serve diverse markets such as automotive, electronics, building & construction, transportation, and healthcare. The company’s extensive product portfolio includes thermoplastic resins, coatings, specialty compounds, film, and sheet. Innovative Plastics (www.sabic-ip.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC).

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This release was published on openPR.